Human Terrain the Movie

Reuters Feature on the Afghanistan War Focuses on “the Human Terrain”

Phil — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:46:14 +0000

An article published by Reuters West faces a losing battle for Afghan “human terrain questions the efficacy of U.S/NATO operations focused on winning “the human terrain,” what Commander of ISAF David Petraeus considers the “key-battleground” for the hearts and minds of Afghan populations. The article contrasts perceptions of the Afghanistan war between “the West” and “Taliban-led insurgents,” and argues that “Western forces” are losing a war in which “victory” is defined by Afghan perceptions of intensified counterinsurgency operations, media coverage of the war effort, and sympathy of local civilians for an expanded US/NATO military presence in Afghanistan.

You can read the article here.

Human Terrain, Humanitarian Space and Hollywood

Phil — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:36:29 +0000

In Commander of ISAF David Petraeus’ ‘Counterinsurgency Guidance’ for military operations in Afghanistan, the first bullet point “Secure and Serve the Population” emphasizes that ‘the decisive terrain is the human terrain.’ The statement issued to “all Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Civilians of NATO ISAF and US Forces in Afghanistan,” mandates a US/NATO policy of using ’soldier diplomats,’ information generated by social scientists, and NGO reconstruction efforts as the basis for winning ‘hearts and minds’ while also ’securing the population’ in the Afghanistan war effort. In the shadow of the shifting and blurred lines between military, diplomatic and civilian operations, journalists like James Denselow and Linda Polman have been trying to understand the implications of an emerging “military-industrial-academic-media-diplomatic-NGO complex.” Recent Hollywood films like Avatar and The Hurt Locker have also explored the different ‘entanglements’ and ‘estrangements’ in current counterinsurgency warfare between academic researchers and the military; military and civilian defense experts; and indigenous subjects and imperial power.

To learn more read Denselow’s ‘Reclaiming humanitarian space’, Rey Chow’s ‘The Age of the World Target’, as well as James Der Derian’s discussion of Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Human Terrain ‘Now We Are All Avatars’ and Virtuous War exploring the relationships between war, war gaming, humanitarian intervention, and the rise of The MIME-NET in the post cold war period.

Press TV’s Cine Politics Reviews Human Terrain

Phil — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:10:28 +0000

Cine Politics on Press TV features a discussion of Human Terrain with host Russell Michaels, journalist and security expert in Iraq and Afghanistan James Denselow, and film critic for Time Out Dave Calhoun. In the program Michaels, Denselow and Calhoun analyze the documentary’s major themes like the creation of “soldier diplomats”, training programs for military cultural awareness, the controversial use of social scientists embedded with combat troops, and U.S./NATO’s effort to win ‘hearts and minds’ in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You can watch the program here.

Petraeus Says U.S. NATO/ISAF Focus is on the ‘Human Terrain’ in Afghan War

Phil — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:48:04 +0000

In his recent confirmation hearing, incoming Commander 0f of U.S. and ISAF Forces in Afghanistan David Petraeus told the Senate House Armed Services Committee “in counterinsurgency operations the human terrain is the decisive terrain.” The hearings show a continuing commitment to a large-scale counterinsurgency warfare in Afghanistan that began earlier this year under former Commander Stanley McChrystal. Behind the new counterinsurgency strategy, the military has been enlisting anthropologists and other social scientists with troops in order to map the “human terrain” in Afghanistan, win over local cultures to U.S/NATO Military objectives, and build an Afghan National Army with a central government. A recent time magazine article describes the controversial strategy.

You can read coverage of the confirmation hearings and future plans at Radio Liberty, Marine Corps Times, and CSPAN.

And you can read Time.com’s recent coverage of the controversy surrounding social scientists in counterinsurgency here.